Michael Martyn Agri-Environment, set up in 1999, has a professional team of four – CVs attached.  We specialise in conservation management and planning.  We believe that with targeted farm planning and good advice, nature conservation and sustainable farming can co-exist without conflict. As part of the Agricultural advisory sector, we together with other agencies, farmers and stakeholders must work to address the three major issues facing us as a society, namely biodiversity loss, water quality and climate change. In this regard we are fortunate to still retain a high proportion of High nature Value (HNV) farmland in parts of this country.  

The team has a wide range of experience in providing the full range of AgriEnvironment services to farmers, dealing with BPS/BISS and all other related schemes.  Agri-Environment Schemes from  REPS/AEOS/GLAS/REAP/ and now ACRES CP and ACRES general. We are specialist farm planners for the NPWS Farm Plan scheme. Since compiling the pilot plans some 19 years ago, we have since written many bespoke Farm Plans in SACs,SPAs, NHA and non designated sites. Plan types include Breeding Waders, Geese & Swans, Hen Harrier, Chough, Corncrake, Grey Partridge, Upland blanket bogs, Heath, Grassland, Vertigo geyeri, Esker Grassland, Fens and Vertigo geyeri Kettle and Kame, throughout Ireland. These are monitored on a yearly or twice-yearly basis for scoring and compliance reporting. We also have audited NPWS Farm Plans. We have worked as planners on the EIP projects: Hen Harrier Project, Burren Programme, FarmPEAT, and LIFE Projects Wild Atlantic Nature, Corncrake Traonach LIFE.  We worked in collaboration with RBAPS project (Dr Caitriona Maher & Dr Dolores Byrne) on meadow and wader habitats in the Shannon Callows and on Marsh Fritillary habitats in Leitrim on the development of the scorecards as one of a small group of advisors selected for this purpose. 

Habitat surveying has been a big part of the business over the years. Beginning with the Commonage Framework Plans (CFP) in 1999 over a 10year period covering extensive areas of the country. This was followed by habitat monitoring contracts. In 2011/12 Michael Martyn Agri-Environment was awarded the contract to carry out the Stocking Review of commonages for NPWS/DAFM. This project covered all the 1.10 million acres of commonage land in Ireland. It signalled the move away from the practice of destocking under the CFPs as the means to habitat restoration, to allocating the sustainable stocking rate in ewe equivalents/hectare to each commonage, having regard to the habitat condition and habitat mosaics encountered on upland grasslands, blanket bogs, heaths and on lowland grasslands. This was initially implemented in the AEOS and in subsequent Agri-Environment Schemes.

Our work with farmer clients extends countrywide with the greatest number in the midland counties along the Shannon catchment in Leinster and Connacht and along the western seaboard – Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Leitrim, Roscommon, border counties Cavan, Monaghan and on the East coast Wicklow & Wexford. We worked on the DAERA Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) Northern Ireland with farmer clients in Breeding Wader areas in Co.Fermanagh. The areas covered in our work over the years coincide in large parts with the Wader Action Zones.

Breeding Wader Project Habitats & Planning Adviser 

 With responsibility for development of 

• • Diagnosis and Action Plans in Wader Action Zones 
  • Pilot plans as development plans in Wader Action Zones 
  • Management actions and NPI actions 
  • Costing all actions 
  • Land Management Agreements 
  • Wader Action Plans 
  • Pilot farms as nucleus to develope local farm clusters 
  • Annual monitoring of plans and delivery of actions 

 Training & Education 

• • Training to project personnel, farm advisers, participants, and other stakeholders within the WAZ catchments
  • Providing advice and support to Wader Action Plan participants, on site and remotely
  • Collaboration with ACRES CP teams, State agencies, Semi-State agencies, other parties, and external support teams.